The explosion of the Internet has provided an enormous mechanism for reaching millions of potential customers. Web pages have become a major vehicle in providing Internet-based content (e.g., advertising) to users, and a convenient method for funneling the various users to desired locations on the network. However, creating sites that truly meet the needs and expectations of a wide range of online users and vendors, and the software engines that drive them, is quite another story.
The emergence of e-commerce over the Internet, and the scramble to capture the user's attention, if for only a brief moment, now demands more effective ways for vendors to present advertising to potential customers. There are a myriad of ways to design and present Web-based content. However, the numerous changes and updates required to present different products and information to the passing user become problematic and time consuming as the numbers of advertising vendors and products become large.
What is needed is an information architecture for making the Internet a far more appealing and effective medium for both the end-user and the vendor trying to reach that user through advertising.